


Day 7: High School/College AU; The Tutor

by AlexaNDYE



Series: Pepperony Week 2018 (8/5 - 8/11) [7]
Category: Iron Man (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-12
Updated: 2018-08-12
Packaged: 2019-06-26 05:14:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15656484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlexaNDYE/pseuds/AlexaNDYE
Summary: Pepperony Week 2018Day 7: High School/College AUPepper meets Tony through their University's tutoring program.





	Day 7: High School/College AU; The Tutor

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Pepperony Week everyone!
> 
> Thank you for reading my fanfics!
> 
> And thank you for everyone that participated! I love reading everyones work at the end of a hard and stressful day! <3

Pepper walked into the library and aimlessly looked around. She was failing Biology, and she needed someone to help tutor her. If she failed Biology, then her GPA would drop below a 4.0, and just the thought didn’t sit well with her. She walked over to the directory and looked for the tutor room where students could go to sign up for a tutor for specific subjects.

 

She rode the elevator to the third floor and walked in a large circle until she found the tutor room tucked away somewhere in the corner. The door was wide open and a lot of students were there with their respective tutor.

 

She walked up to the counter and was greeted by one of the workers.

 

“How can I help you?” The man asked.

 

“I’m looking for a tutor to help me with Biology.”

 

“Okay,” the man nodded. “What course number?”

 

“One-eleven,” Pepper replied.

 

The man pulled out the keyboard to one of the computers and began typing. He clicked a few times and dragged his mouse before clicking a few more times. He looked up at her with a smile, “You’re in luck. There’s someone here that’s free for the next hour if you’re okay with having the tutor session today.”

 

Pepper’s eyes lit up. “Sure, that would be awesome.”

 

“Okay, follow me.” The man led her to one of the rooms in the back. He knocked on the door frame and talked the other man, he explained the situation and the other man nodded. “This is Tony Stark. He’ll be the one tutoring you.” The man introduced them.

 

Pepper stepped closer to the door and shook his hand. “Hi, I’m Pepper.”

 

“Nice to meet you, Pepper,” Tony replied with a small smile.

 

“Let me know if you’d like to schedule more tutoring sessions,” the man said before leaving the pair.

 

Tony gestured for her to take a seat and quietly closed the door behind her. He sat beside her and watched her pull out a notebook and a Biology book.

 

“So, what can I help you with?” he asked.

 

“I’m having a bit of trouble with this whole section on photosynthesis,” she replied as she flipped through her book. “We’ve had two quizzes on it so far, and I failed both of them.” She sighed. “Our midterm is next week and he said that it would be at least half the exam.”

 

“Okay,” He nodded. “Let’s see what we’re working with here first. Do you have your quizzes with you?”

 

“Unfortunately, I do.” She pulled the quizzes out of her notebook and scooted them over. Tony leaned over and stared that them, trying to read the questions and her answers.

 

This was the first time she was able to try and get a read on her tutor. He was a little taller than her, his brown hair was parted on the side and gelled up and down, he had brown eyes and a normal build. She observed his biceps, and noticed that while he had a normal build, he was also quite fit. He wore a black t-shirt, a pair of dark denim jeans, and a pair of black and white Vans shoes. She also noticed the small leather strap tied on his right wrist.

 

If anyone asked, she would say that he smelled wonderful.

 

 _Jesus, Pepper… get it together. He’s here to tutor you, not to quiz you on how perfect his butt looks in those jeans._ She paused and then mentally smacked herself in the face.

 

“Do you mind if we go over your quiz? I know your teacher probably did, but I want to see what your opinions are about your answers. Sound good?” he asked with a small reassuring smile.

 

Pepper nodded. “Yeah, sure.”

 

They went through her quiz and while she tried to provide evidence for her answers, she always came up short and unsure of herself. He tried to teach her not to second guess her answers and provided a detailed explanation for all of the questions asked on the quiz.

 

As their hour long tutoring session came to an end, he decided to strike up a casual conversation with her.

 

“What’s your major?”

 

“Business,” she replied. “What’s yours?”

 

“I’m studying Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Computer Science.”

 

Pepper’s eyes widened. “Wow, okay.”

 

He laughed. “I just like building things a lot. Is this your first year here?”

 

She shook her head. “I’m a Junior. I just tried to put Biology off as much as I could. I didn’t get into one of my upper division classes since it was full, so I had to take Biology.”

 

He chuckled. “You really don’t like Science?”

 

“I’m just not much of a Science person,” she replied with a small shrug. “It’s generally not my cup of tea.”

 

“Ah,” he nodded. “Well, if you ever need any more help with Science, I’m always here.”

 

She beamed at him and appreciated the thought. “Thank you, Tony.”

 

“Of course, uh, Pepper. Interesting name.”

 

“It’s a nickname from High School that kind of stuck. My real name is Virginia.”

 

“Pepper and Virginia are both beautiful names,” he replied, flirting with her a bit.

 

She smirked. “Until some asshole kids start calling you ‘Vagina’, then it’s not so beautiful.”

 

He made a sour face. “Yeah, that doesn’t sound fun.”

 

She glanced at her watch and slightly panicked. “Oh, I’m sorry, I forgot I’m supposed to meet my friend at the café.”

 

“It’s no problem.”

 

“Thank you for helping me, Tony.” She stood up and Tony stood up with her to guide her to the exit.

 

“I’ll be here if you need anything, okay?” he said as they crossed the threshold. “Good luck on your midterm.” She beamed at him one last time before waving good-bye. As she turned to leave, he watched her saunter down the hall and around the corner. He sighed to himself as pushed off the doorframe to go back to the room.

 

Right before he could, someone came up from behind him and swung an arm around his neck.

 

“Hey!” Rhodey said as he greeted his best friend.

 

Tony tried his best to shove him off. “Sup, Platypus.”

 

“You’re still here? I thought you were going to take off before lunch.”

 

Tony shrugged. “I need the money, so I told Mr. Strange I wanted to stay longer in case there were any walk-ins.”

 

“We’re you tutoring that girl that just left?”

 

“The red head?”

 

“Yeah,” Rhodey nodded.

 

Tony nodded back. “She needed help in Biology.”

 

Rhodey raised an eyebrow at him. “With the way you were looking at her, I could tell you wanted to do more than help her with Biology,” he teased. Tony glared at him and rolled his eyes.

 

\---

 

Pepper nearly squealed with glee when she ended up getting a B on the midterm that curved into an A. When she got out of class, she tried to see if Tony was at the tutoring room so she could thank him in person, but when she got there, the woman at the desk told her that he wasn’t.

 

Nat met up Pepper at the café thereafter and celebrated alongside her with a couple of Frappuccinos.

 

“I thought you hated Biology,” Nat replied as Pepper kept smiling.

 

“I do.”

 

“So, tell me about this Tony guy. He seems nice.”

 

“He tutored me. We didn’t go on a date,” she sternly told Nat.

 

Nat smirked. “Okay.”

 

Pepper glared at her. “I mean it.”

 

“Uh huh.”

 

Pepper stared at her flatly. “Why are you always trying to play matchmaker?”

 

“I only play matchmaker with you, Pep,” Nat beamed at her. “Because you need to have some fun in your life. There are other important things than studying, you know.”

 

“I go out with you to all your parties,” Pepper replied. “Isn’t that enough?”

 

“You go, but you just kind of stand there. I want you to have fun, too, you know.”

 

Pepper sighed. “Parties are never fun when it’s always about drunk people in a confined space making loud obnoxious sounds with their mouths.” She shivered at the remembrance.

 

Nat waved her hand at her. “That was a lame party and hosted by that lame idiot Aldrich. I assure you, tonight’s party will be off the hook.”

 

Pepper narrowed her eyes at her. “You never said we were going to a party tonight.”

 

“I’m telling you now.” Pepper sighed. “C’mon. It’s a Friday and you just aced your midterm. I think that calls for a celebration.”

 

Pepper was usually not one for the partying scene; she always hated watching people get drunk and get into fights with others just because of a misunderstanding. She did like watching the beer pong competitions though. The only thing that saved her from dying of boredom at parties was her friend Hope who always made it a little more fun, but she was still studying for midterms and couldn’t make it that night.

 

It was just her and Nat, and right when they got to the party, Nat went to go look for her boyfriend, Bucky. Pepper made a beeline for the drink table and saw that they had both spiked and non-spiked drinks, as well as soda and some water bottles. She picked up a cup and began to fill it with soda.

 

“Going all out tonight?” a voice behind her asked.

 

Pepper turned around and instantly smiled. “Tony.”

 

He was wearing a dark green plaid long sleeve with a white t-shirt underneath, and a pair of denim jeans.

 

“Pepper,” he smiled at her. “Fancy seeing you here. Didn’t know you were such a party animal.”

 

She chuckled. “Oh yeah,” she replied sarcastically and held up her non-alcoholic drink. “I live to party.”

 

He knocked his cup against hers and revealed that he was drinking water. “Cheers, then. To the sober people that are forced to be the designated driver.” She laughed right before they both drank.

 

He gestured for her to follow him since the crowd in the living room started getting louder. She followed him towards the kitchen where it was much quieter.

 

“So, how was your midterm?” Tony asked as they leaned against the dining room window.

 

“It wasn’t bad,” she replied. “I did have a very helpful tutor, after all.” She brushed his ego a bit and he hummed at her.

 

“Really?” He smirked. “Tell me about him. Is he super smart?”

 

“The smartest.”

 

“He sounds like an upstanding gentleman.”

 

“I actually don’t know about that. I’ve only met him a couple times. He might hate dogs for all I know.”

 

“He does not hate dogs.”

 

“Oh? You know him?”

 

He let out a short laugh. “A bit.”

 

“Can you tell me what else he likes?”

 

“A certain redhead,” he replied and took a sip of his drink. She made a subtle shocked expression, and watched him shyly look away before break out into a charming smile. She smiled to herself and bumped into his shoulder with hers. “Oh, and cats. I like both dogs and cats.”

 

“I’m more of a dog person, but I don’t mind cats,” she replied.

 

“So, what brings you to this party?” Tony asked as he watched a few people walk past them.

 

“My friend brought me here. She likes my unapologetic company. And apparently her boyfriend is here, too.”

 

“The unintended third wheel?” Tony asked.

 

Pepper nodded. “I guess so. What about you?”

 

“My friend is hosting this party and asked me to go. I’m only here to see my friends drink their asses off so I can drag them to the curb later.” He leaned towards her a bit more and noticed how subtly sweet her perfume smelled. “I’ll drink a little, but I don’t like getting drunk. I thought this was going to be one of those long nights of having to keep my friends from puking all over the place, but then I found someone to enjoy my time with.” He turned to Pepper and beamed at her.

 

Pepper tried not to blush. “I do enjoy your company.”

 

“I’m not boring, am I?”

 

“Not at all.”

 

As more people started to turn up, more people started to flood into the kitchen from the living room. The place was quite crowded and with each passing second, it was getting harder and harder to hear. Tony didn’t want them to yell and lose their voices the next day, so he gestured for her to follow him.

 

He grabbed her hand and led her through the throngs of people. She noticed how warm and soft his hand was, and he wasn’t too harsh with her, or too delicate.

 

He led them up the staircase and pushed open the last door that read ‘Rooftop’. He closed the door behind her and found her staring up at the sky in awe. Although it was a cool night, it wasn’t too cold to be outside, and even though it was cloudy, the stars were as prominent as ever.

 

“They’re beautiful,” Pepper muttered. She glanced over at him and saw him staring at her. “Let me guess…” she widened her smile.

 

“I think your freckles are much more pretty than some stars in the sky,” he replied as he walked towards her. “Oh, and yes, they are beautiful.” He didn’t take his eyes off her.

 

“You mean the stars.”

 

“Those, too,” he replied with a nod. She shook her head at him and walked towards the railing to admire the beautiful lit up city in the distance.

 

For the rest of the night, they talked about themselves; what they liked to do, what they  absolutely hated, what they did in their spare time, and what they liked to eat. He found out that she was allergic to strawberries, and she found out that he liked building robots and working on cars.

 

As the night winded down, Pepper heard a voice from the front lawn of the house. It was Nat, and it sounded like she and her boyfriend were having a small fight.

 

“Oh shoot,” Pepper muttered.

 

Tony peered over the railing. “Is that your friend?”

 

“Yeah,” she replied with a small sigh. “I should probably take care of that.” Tony nodded and watched her stop halfway to the door. She turned around and walked back to him. “Thank you, Tony, for the wonderful night.”

 

“It was only a ‘wonderful night’, because you were here with me.”

 

She tilted her head to the side and couldn’t help but smile at him. “Charming,” she admitted.

 

He shrugged. “Thank you. I try.”

 

She laughed at him and leaned in to kiss him on the cheek. “I’ll talk to you later?”

 

“Uh, sure,” Tony replied as he tried to fight off the blush. He began to search his pockets for his phone. “Want to exchange numbers, you know, in case you need more help with Biology?” She raised her eyebrow at him. “Well, I was also going to ask if you had plans tomorrow, but we can talk about that later.” She chuckled at his antics and gave him her number.

 

As she was leaving, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in for a hug. She wondered if she was becoming addicted to his smell, because she had to force herself to pull away. And she could’ve sworn she felt his lips on the top of her head.

 

“Bye, Tony,” she waved before exiting the rooftop.

 

“Bye, Pep,” he replied solemnly.

 

His phone went off half an hour later and when he saw who it was, he broke out into the goofiest grin.


End file.
